Nails: How to Shape Them
My intention was to write a short article on nail shape. As I kept thinking about what to cover, I realized that it wasn't possible to say anything sensible regarding nail shape without considering the broader issues of general playing position and attack.
So, here we go…
Perpendicular Vibration
As far as my observations go, for a full and round tone the string needs to vibrate perpendicularly to the soundboard. To rephrase it in finer detail, the perpendicular vibration of the string should be higher in percentage than its parallel vibration. What does that mean? See the image below. We want the string to vibrate mostly in the direction of the green arrows and NOT red arrows.
So, here we go…
Perpendicular Vibration
As far as my observations go, for a full and round tone the string needs to vibrate perpendicularly to the soundboard. To rephrase it in finer detail, the perpendicular vibration of the string should be higher in percentage than its parallel vibration. What does that mean? See the image below. We want the string to vibrate mostly in the direction of the green arrows and NOT red arrows.
Padding with Fingertip
Since many of the notes you play will come after other notes you have played on the same string, you need to mute the string, that is, stop its vibration before proceeding with the next note. You CANNOT do that with the nail. Try muting the string with your nail only and you will hear an unpleasant buzz. Therefore, the starting position of any note is your fingertip while the nail sits snugly on the other side of the string. See the image below:
Since many of the notes you play will come after other notes you have played on the same string, you need to mute the string, that is, stop its vibration before proceeding with the next note. You CANNOT do that with the nail. Try muting the string with your nail only and you will hear an unpleasant buzz. Therefore, the starting position of any note is your fingertip while the nail sits snugly on the other side of the string. See the image below:
Nail Ramp for Full Tone
To make the string vibrate in and out toward the soundboard you need to PUSH your fingertip INTO the soundboard. This way, the string will TRAVEL alongside the nail and eventually run out of nail edge and flick to make the note. The operative word here is RAMP. The longer the ramp (the nail edge on which the string travels) the THICKER the tone will be.
To make the string vibrate in and out toward the soundboard you need to PUSH your fingertip INTO the soundboard. This way, the string will TRAVEL alongside the nail and eventually run out of nail edge and flick to make the note. The operative word here is RAMP. The longer the ramp (the nail edge on which the string travels) the THICKER the tone will be.
Nail Shape and Hand Position
Before we start shaping out nail to ensure a nice and smooth ramp, we need to look at our general right hand position as that will determine the kind of nail shape we need. When placed naturally over the strings, our fingers already approach the strings on an angle. See the image below:
Before we start shaping out nail to ensure a nice and smooth ramp, we need to look at our general right hand position as that will determine the kind of nail shape we need. When placed naturally over the strings, our fingers already approach the strings on an angle. See the image below:
Therefore, our NATURAL posture already enables us to push our fingernails sort of sideways onto the strings creating a ramp. This angled position is particularly useful when playing freestroke as it gives our fingertips enough space to swing without hitting the next string.
Classical Versus Flamenco Playing
Classical guitarists use the angled attack to create beautiful and round notes that almost erase the presence of the player as a human entity :-) In other words they go after the pure note to convey the music almost in an unmediated manner. To this end, some file down the left sides of their nails all the way into the flesh and fine tune this ramp to create their desired tone. This process leads to an ideal right hand posture that remains constant through all manners of playing.
We all know that flamenco playing incorporates several different right hand postures. Just remember my email on thumb placement during long picado sequences. During such a sequence it is not possible to rely on a constant hand angle as we need to pull our forearm back. Check out the following image from my tutorial on long picado passages:
Classical Versus Flamenco Playing
Classical guitarists use the angled attack to create beautiful and round notes that almost erase the presence of the player as a human entity :-) In other words they go after the pure note to convey the music almost in an unmediated manner. To this end, some file down the left sides of their nails all the way into the flesh and fine tune this ramp to create their desired tone. This process leads to an ideal right hand posture that remains constant through all manners of playing.
We all know that flamenco playing incorporates several different right hand postures. Just remember my email on thumb placement during long picado sequences. During such a sequence it is not possible to rely on a constant hand angle as we need to pull our forearm back. Check out the following image from my tutorial on long picado passages:
Flat Filing
Due to its incorporation of a plethora of hand positions many master flamenco players recommend filing the tops of the fingernails FLAT. I have resisted doing this for the longest time as I didn't look hard enough into the basic connection between the string and the nail. Let me first show you what I mean by flat:
Due to its incorporation of a plethora of hand positions many master flamenco players recommend filing the tops of the fingernails FLAT. I have resisted doing this for the longest time as I didn't look hard enough into the basic connection between the string and the nail. Let me first show you what I mean by flat:
I simply flatten the tops of my nails against the curved tips of my fingers. I always thought doing this would completely eliminate the ramp required for a full tone but I was NOT thinking in 3 dimensions! Look at your fingertips by holding your fingers pointing to your face and you will see that the nails ALREADY have a curvature due to the round surface of the nail bed. Here:
Therefore, flat filing does NOT eliminate the ramp, it actually gives you more flexibility in terms of hand positions in which you can still use ramping comfortably.
Regarding nail length, I still make sure my fingertips and nails remain on the same plane when I touch a flat surface perpendicularly:
Regarding nail length, I still make sure my fingertips and nails remain on the same plane when I touch a flat surface perpendicularly:
Tentative Conclusion
The flat filing method so far has worked very well for me. To itemize the perks:
Subjective Bias (or Disclaimer)
All this theory is based on MY OWN process of trying to play with a better tone. I also guide my students and observe the conclusions. So, what you read here is not the definitive guide to flamenco nails. However, if the approach makes sense to you, I suggest you give it a try and see what happens.
Happy filing
The flat filing method so far has worked very well for me. To itemize the perks:
- I find that I can play with a rounder tone in several different positions without having to force my fingers into strange angles.
- Since the flat nail surface gives me a wider nail edge to use, I damage my nails much less.
- I spend less time filing :-)
Subjective Bias (or Disclaimer)
All this theory is based on MY OWN process of trying to play with a better tone. I also guide my students and observe the conclusions. So, what you read here is not the definitive guide to flamenco nails. However, if the approach makes sense to you, I suggest you give it a try and see what happens.
Happy filing
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